Articles
Teaching About God Correctly
Aristotle once said, “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.” This is a reason why he regarded teaching as the highest form of understanding. Children of God are taught to teach (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Every single child of His will naturally share their knowledge of Him during interaction with others. Therefore, the question should be asked, “Is my relationship with God one of knowledge, or understanding?”
King Saul, is a person in the Bible who sought merely to know about God. In 1 Samuel 15:2-3, the Lord says to Saul, “I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” Yet since Sauls’ understanding of God’s will was based on his own interpretation, he spared the king of the Amalekites and allowed the people to spare the best animals.
The people of Israel meant well when they spared the best animals, so that they could sacrifice them to the Lord, but this is not what the Lord commanded. After returning from battle, Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, said to Saul, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.” (1 Sam. 15:22-23)
Saul was an ineffective teacher when it came to understanding the Lord’s ways because he let his insecurities, jealousies, and other tense emotions create a gap between him and God. When he stumbled, he also sought answers from Samuel, instead of praying for answers directly. (1 Samuel 28:15-19) Our knowledge of God needs to come from Him alone. Then we should be seeking to understand His knowledge according to His principles. In Mathew 28:16-20, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” If we are to teach His ways correctly, we need to always choose to be with Him.
